The Chassidic Approach To Joy

Various times are designated for this: daily — at the end of the day before going to bed; weekly — towards the end of the week, on Thursday night; monthly — on the last day of the month, which is known as Yom Kippur Katan, “a miniature Yom Kippur”; and yearly — at the end of the year, throughout the month of Elul.

the chassid thought, “What is more important: my spiritual experience on Yom Kippur or the fact that I can get this family out of the dungeon earlier?” He did not have to think long. His entire life was directed towards others, not to himself.

Yeshus means obsession with self.

the person can feel charged with energy and filled with the resolve that he will get the job done.

Chassidism teaches that the vitality, and indeed the entire existence, of the world depends totally upon G-d. Every element of creation is one with G-d. Without this Divine energy, nothing could exist.

When a person is happy, he stands above all his personal limitations and weaknesses. He can do things that he ordinarily could not do. He can forgive his worst enemy. His joy generates inner energy that breaks through and shatters any barrier that stands in his way.

When our minds are focused on what has to be done, we function happily and successfully. But when a person becomes self-absorbed and starts thinking about how everything affects him — that is not the natural way and it causes problems.

To change events that have happened is not within our power; they are history. But we can change the nature of how we will react to whatever has happened.

“If you sit in darkness long enough, you get used to it. You do not realize the need for light.”